


Store Wars

by Em626



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: AU, F/F, Multi Chapter, shop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27561493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em626/pseuds/Em626
Summary: Tissaia and her colleague Sabrina work in their little antique shop De Vries Antiques in Aretuza. Little do they both know how much their worlds will get turned upside down when the dynamic duo Yennefer and Triss buy the shop opposite.
Relationships: Sabrina Glevissig/Triss Merigold, Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 40
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been sat on this for a while and finally decided to upload it. I usually wait till I’ve finished writing the whole fic but since I’m short for time recently I just thought I’d upload the first chapter and gauge the response.
> 
> So I actually had a beta reader this time. Thank you to the amazingly wonderful Yanana who made this work readable. She’s also got a pretty great story over on her profile so go and check hers out and give it some love!

Sabrina shut the door behind her and took a deep breath, readying herself for the start of a new day. Right, she thought as she made her way over to the till to count yesterday’s profits, placing the coffees she ordered on the desk.

Sabrina had been working at De Vries Antiques since she left school. She didn’t obtain the best of grades but her boss, Tissaia De Vries, took her in regardless. She had been her rock throughout her youth. Whenever she got into trouble Tissaia would be there to talk her through a solution. She was a friend of her mothers and when she passed, she had taken Sabrina under her wing wordlessly and made her into the woman she was today. Though she was sure “The woman she was today” was questionable at times.

She double checked the wad of notes in her hand and made a record in the account book to be checked again later by Tissaia no doubt. Next on her list was to update the online store. Sabrina had practically begged Tissaia to allow her to take the store online. It would allow a new target audience to find their way into the world of antiques by going digital and create more publicity for their little shop and put them on the radar so to speak. Tissaia mumbles something about the youth of today being glued to their screens and not bothering to use their legs every once in a while. She took that as a nod of approval and went straight to designing a website and signing up for an account with every current social media platform.

The doorbell rings and Sabrina glances up from her screen briefly to see her boss arrive and then focuses back on the screen.

“Good morning to you too” She hears over the tapping of the keyboard. 

“Good mooooorning” She sings as she spins round Tissaia, grabbing her coffee on the way round and handing it to her.

She sees Tissaia roll her eyes but accept the coffee with a nod. “You know I only accept this whimsical nonsense from you because you supply me with coffee?”

“Incorrect. You put up with me because I am the light of your life, who just so happens to provide you with coffee.”

“Yes that must be it.” She says taking another sip of coffee and looking around the shop doing a once over of their inventory. “

“Has Mr Roggeveen paid the buyers fee for listing his item with us yet?”

Sabrina sighed and said “Of course he hasn’t. I honestly question why you let him list with us in the first place.”

“Because he is a valued client and has been with us for many years Sabrina. Making and maintaining connections are crucial in this business so you’d be wise to make an effort when you two cross paths in the future.”

She scoffs at the remark whilst carrying her laptop over to the display cabinets to list the latest additions De Vries Antiques had acquired. “Well you know as well as I do that he wants to form a connection with you alright.”

Sabrina didn’t have to look at her boss to see the frown directed at her, she could feel it.

“Behave yourself. He is a well-respected client who-”

“Wants to get in your pants Tissaia.” She snaps a few pictures on her camera of the antiques before plugging it into the laptop to update the listings. “I know it, you know it, the whole of Aretuza knows it.”

“Mr Roggeveen’s actions have been nothing but business related.”

Sabrina waved her hand up to stop anything more coming out of her boss’s mouth. “Seriously Tissaia. I love you, I really do, but you have the perception of a paper cup when it comes to flirting.”

She saw Tissaia’s nose scrunch up at her previous statement. She smiled to herself quickly and went to turn the sign on the door to “open” to officially start the day.

Half a dozen customers and a couple of sales later Sabrina had decided to go out and get some fresh air whilst she was on her lunch break. She made her way to the local coffee shop tucked away at the corner of the Highstreet. The shop itself wasn’t situated in the best place for tourists, who would easily skip by this part of the street none the wiser that a coffee shop was nestled in the backstreets. To the locals though it’s a hit.

The owner Renfri could be construed as a bit of a misfit to this part of Aretuza, but that’s what Sabrina loved about her. If you want gossip about the goings on in the world she would have it. If you need someone’s name, address or social security number she would find the information in a heartbeat. Sabrina often thought the woman was an undercover cop with the amount of information she could provide with mere seconds of notice; and her coffee. Oh my god her coffee. She didn’t know what Renfri put in that takeaway cup but it was divine. The smell alone was heavenly but once you’ve tasted the coffee from “The Grind” you can never drink another coffee again.

“The usual?”

Sabrina nods her head and sets herself against the bar. The shop was fairly empty but she noticed a few regulars scattered around the room. She waits for Renfri to make her drink and then leans over the bar clicking the bones in her hand in anticipation.

“So. What have you got for me today?”

Renfri rolled her eyes and carried on drying the pile of plates next to her. “You can’t expect me to have more gossip since yesterday.”

Sabrina just looked at her and then frowned in disappointment. “Wait really?”

She watched as Renfi put the plate down onto the clean pile and took a big breath in. “Of course, I have something for you, who do you take me for?”

Sabrina threw a scrunched-up paper napkin at the barista who just laughed in response and leaned forward on the bar and whispered to Sabrina “A little birdy tells me the old corner shop has found a new owner.”

“They found someone to buy that old wreck?”

“Two people apparently. Put in an all cash deposit, no one else could match their price.”

Sabrina scowled at the new information. “Great. Another rich husband and wife who want to open another fancy bistro. Like we don’t have enough of them.” She looked up to see Renfi smirk at her and then turn around to clean the coffee filters.

“Oh no, get back here. There’s something more! What is it?”

Renfi’s shoulders shook up and down in laughter and turned back around displaying a beaming grin that Sabrina only assumed was interesting news to add to the story.

“Think less husband and wife and more wife and wife.”

Sabrina’s eyes widened in shock and then her face lit up like a neon sign in response. “Wait seriously?”

“All I know is two women who looked to be in their mid-20’s viewed the shop last week and then made an offer that nobody could refuse and blew the rest of the competition out the water.”

“There’s more.”

Renfi pulls out her phone and shows Sabrina a picture of a small brunette hugging a slightly taller girl with jet black hair. Sabrina clapped her hands together in excitement. “Finally, something interesting to happen to this shit hole!”

Renfri gave her a glare and then apologised to the customers in the store for her friend’s bad choice of words. A few minutes later the final customer left and she and Renfri were the only people in the shop.

“You need to tell me everything! How old are they? Where do they come from? Have they got any sisters?”

Renfri laughed and then her eyes glanced upwards above her and she frowned. “Aren’t you running late?”

Sabrina too glanced at the clock behind her and her eyes widened in shock. “Shit!” She grabbed the second coffee Renfri had made for her and ran out the door before running back in and shouting, “We are not finished here Renfri!” and sprinting round the corner back to the shop.

She swings open the door to see a slightly disheveled Tissaia behind the counter. She looks up and glares at her and Sabrina has half a mind to run back through the door and make a break for it.

“You said you were going out for lunch, not run a marathon in Aretuza.”

Sabrina winced at Tissaia’s words. Yes she may be an hour and half late and yes she may have missed the rush of customers and left Tissaia on her own. She got caught up in gossiping and really had no excuse this time. She held up the coffee and put it on the counter next to Tissaia.

“There was a queue?”

“Is that a question or are you trying to convince yourself as well as me?”

“Okay, I’m sorry I missed the lunch rush but I discovered some information that I think you will be quite interested in.”

Tissaia looked up at her and shakes her head “You’ve been talking to Renfri again haven’t you?”

“Yes but-“

“No buts Sabrina, you can’t trust a word that comes out of that girl’s mouth. There is no truth in her words whatsoever.”

“What about when she predicted that Ostrit would never step foot in this shop again after you threatened to throw him out the window without opening it first?”

“Mr Segelin?”

Sabrina nodded.

“He died the next day Sabrina.”

“Exactly, he never came into our shop again! She must be a witch.”

Tissaia shook her head and passed Sabrina a bunch of papers and went to sit down on the chair in the corner of the shop. “Make yourself useful and write up the sales and commissions we need to collect for next week.”

Sabrina looked at the papers in her hand and then back to Tissaia in disbelief. “This will take hours, I’ll be here till at least nine in the evening.”

Tissaia turned a page of the book she was reading, “Better get started quickly then.”

It was now half eight and the streets were empty. They closed at five and Tissaia left around six. She guessed this was payback for having a long lunch break. She put the now finished documents into the filing cabinet and locked it securely. She was about to grab her coat and bag when she heard a horn beep outside. Curiosity got the better of her and she peered out from her shop window to the road opposite.

A big removal van pulled up and a woman seen posing next to the old corner shop for a photo. One of the women in Renfri’s picture she realised. She grinned and snapped a quick picture discreetly and sent it to Renfri. Things were about to get interesting she thought as she put on her coat and locked the shop door shut behind her. For once she couldn’t wait to go into work tomorrow. 

————

Triss sighed as she finished sweeping up the last of the mess from the floor. She took a quick look around the rest of the room. There will still so much to do before they even considered baking for the shop. She moved to the counters and trailed her finger over the counter tops. They were thick with dust as to be expected.

“Well, better now than never.”

She tackled the general cleaning before moving on to clearing the back rooms and piling the waste into several organised piles of bin bags. Two hours later and the shop already looked significantly more presentable than this morning.

The sound of a car door slam alerted Triss to the front door. She saw the familiar figure stumble over to the shop door juggling a tray of coffees and a paper bag of what Triss assumed to be her friend’s version of breakfast. She opened up the door allowing her friend to enter and followed her over to the counters. Yennefer still hadn’t gotten round to getting them keys to the place and the thought of this place being unlocked over night made her anxious.

“Wow, this looks amazing, We could practically open up shop if we had the stock.”

“It looks amazing because I spent half the morning single handily scrubbing every inch of the store.”

“And every inch of it looks sparkling clean!”

Triss rolled her eyes. She knew Yennefer wouldn’t turn up on time. It’s just who she was a person. Her whole body clock was hours behind everyone elses and you just need to come to terms with the fact that if you ask Yennefer to be somewhere at a certain time; you can expect her to be at least two hours late. Honestly, Triss was impressed Yennefer got her dates right and remembered to meet her today,

“It would have gone a lot quicker if I had you to help me you know.”

“Ah” She said clicking her fingers and walking out the door signaling for Triss to follow. She opened up the boot of her car and pulled out a box containing mishaps of paper, markers and crayons. Yennefer slams the box down onto the counter and pulls out a scrunched up poster, smiling at the result.

Triss peers over her shoulder and takes one look at her friend. “You drew this?”

Yennefer smiles proudly in response, “Yes, pretty incredible right? I think if we move this counter over there and then put the ovens on that side rather than over there then we will have 13.5% more room for tables and chairs for customers!”

Triss smiled at her friends enthusiasm for the shop. She knew Yennefer had her heart set on opening up her own little bakery ever since she was a little girl. Her and Yen had been friends since they can remember and she knows the hardship her friend went through over the years. Yennefer had a hard time opening up to people, she still does come to think of it but back then her secretive nature made her an easy pickings for the bullies at Vengerburg. She was harassed constantly and her grades suffered dearly as a consequence. Her attendance slipped and Yennefer fell more and more behind with her studies. Triss helped her as much as she could and got Yennefer to a place where she would pass most of her exams; not with all A’s but passes nevertheless.

However on the week of exams a few boys cornered her one day and Tries heard from her mother that she was on the way to the nearest hospital. Her spine had caved in from the force of the kicks and she had to have emergency surgery to correct her spine. You could never tell by looking at her now but Triss knew she still struggled with it. When the day was particularly cold she knew it bothered Yennefer’s joints or when she stays bent over for too long she sees the slight pain in her eyes as she tries to straighten herself out.

Her mother owned a bakery in Vengerburg and after Yen got discharged under Triss’s mums care, Yennefer had started to work part time there. It acted as a place of solace for her friend where she could be who she wanted to be without fear of judgment. Eventually Yennefer worked there full time and then decided she wanted to run her own bakery and invent her own recipes for people to try and taste. Triss would of course help her obtain that dream and turn it into a reality. Yennefer knew that Triss would follow her through hell and back to help her and although she rarely said it with words, Yennefer’s action showed Triss that she was grateful in her own way.

Triss smiled at where they were now and how far they had come from when they were two teenagers scribbling menu ideas and shop design fronts on small pieces of paper. She looked at the design Yen had presented her with today and shook her head, maybe they hadn’t changed as much as she thought.

“I must admit I think having more room for indoor tables and chairs would be beneficial but there is a slight problem in your maths Yen.”

Yennefer’s face scrunched up in reaction to Triss and darted back to her notes, her eyes scanning every inch of the plan again. Triss peered over her shoulder on her tip toes and pointed to the percentage Yennefer had come up with.

“I don’t think we can have 0.5% of a person sweet.”

Yennefer’s eyes bulged out of her sockets for a second and then bit her lip. She looked at Triss and they both laughed in response for several minutes.

“Right.” Triss said bringing them back to reality. “We still need to move all our inventory into the store, deep clean the ovens (before they are ready for baking?) ready for baking, advertise our opening and we still need to agree on a shop name.”

Yennefer took a sip of her coffee and pulled out a cinnamon swirl for herself and Triss. “I thought we had decided on that already?”

“We are not having the name sugar daddy above our shop Yennefer.”

“Snack Rack?” Triss just stood there stunned in silence.

“What?”

“I will not be referred to as a snack.”

Yennefer smirked at Triss and flicked her hair dramatically, “You’re right, I’m a whole damn meal.”

Triss sighed and then tossed her friend a bin bag from the growing pile, earning a shocked response and an over dramatic “Ow!”

“We need to take all these to the tip.”

“When you mean we you mean me?”

Triss grinned and escorted Yen over to the store room where there were at least 30 bags all pilled up in the corner.

“Yep.” She said popping the p at the end.

“This is slave labour Triss and you know it.”

Triss guided Yen out the room with a hand to her back and smiled. “No Yen, it’s called co-owning a business. Now get a shift on.”

Yennefer mumbled something she was sure she didn’t want to hear and started loading the bags into her car.

They had so much to do before they could open on top of what Triss had already said. They also had to decide on a menu so they could get the ingredients ready to bake, choose a floor plan and an outside seating area, repaint the whole shop and work out a schedule for everything. Yennefer didn’t care though. She had dreamt of this moment for years and she was going to make damn sure everything was perfect.

Triss had been her saving grace throughout this whole project and she couldn’t ask for a better best friend and co-owner. She made a promise to Triss’s mother that she would look after her and although she knew that she had complete faith in Yennefer she took the responsibility very seriously and promised to look out for Triss and protect her from any harm. Triss was more family than her blood relatives. Triss’s mum had practically got her through her teenage years and back onto the straight and narrow. More importantly though she helped her find a passion. A passion for baking. It literally gave her life a recipe to follow but with a creative freedom to try new things and think outside of the box.

Her parents and siblings never gave her the time of day so she ended up practically living with Triss. She was like a sister to her and she’d be dammed if anyone lay a finger on her head without her knowing. Triss was a literal flower and she would die before anyone broke her heart.

A lightbulb clicked in her head at that moment and Yennefer smiled to herself before jotting something down in her phone and making a mental note to make a slight detour on the way back from the tip to run a quick errand.

She threw her phone in her bag and heard a jingle inside it. She spun round and swung open the door getting a look from Triss. She tossed over the keys to the bakery and smiled at her best friend. They finally made it. The keys symbolised that their dream was in fact not just a dream but something real. This was going to be a whole lot of fun!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for Yanana for being the beta for this chapter.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think!

Tissaia slammed her head on the counter for what seemed like the hundredth time this morning. She doesn’t mind the early starts to the day, in fact she quite likes them. No one is around to pester her and she can catch up on the tasks she didn’t finish the day before. Well she would be if she could get a seconds peace to gather her thoughts.

The shop next door had apparently gotten the same idea with the early morning start but obviously didn’t consider that other store owners would be trying to work.

She looked up from her slump to see Sabrina juggling their usual coffees. She practically downed the whole cup in one go earning an odd look from her colleague. She did a side glare at the shop opposite and Sabrina nodded in realisation.

“They have not given me a moments silence since I have entered the shop. I can’t deal with this every day Sabrina.”

Sabrina listened to Tissaia rant for a few minutes. Sometimes her boss just needed someone to vent to and unload her thoughts and feelings. Sabrina didn’t mind in the slightest. For one, it allowed her to drink her coffee without interruptions and two, she honestly couldn’t hear a word her friend was saying because she decided to turn her earpods on and silently jam to Queen’s We will rock you.

Tissaia stopped mid-sentence and stared at Sabrina. She was swaying from side to side and her head was bobbing rhythmically up and down.

“How long have you been listening to music?”

Sabrina had obviously zoned out a long time ago because she was just nodding every time she spoke.

“It’s so kind of you to agree to talk to the shop owners opposite and instruct them to be quieter in the future Sabrina. Really I couldn’t be more appreciative.”

As expected Sabrina just smiled at Tissaia and nodded her head in response. A smirk made its way to Tissaia’s lips and she just walked away to attend to business related matters.

Sabrina unplugged her headphones and grinned to herself. How she has gotten away with being the “great, understanding, shoulder to cry on friend” act for so long she will never know. She skipped on over to the backroom where she threw down her coat and bag and made her way over to Tissaia to start her day.

“What’s on the list to do today boss?”

“You can put your coat back on for starters.”

Sabrina paused for a second in confusion.

“Did you forget already? You volunteered just moments ago to talk to the shop owners next door about their loud antics.”

Sabrina’s confusion was only more evident now as she cast her mind back to minutes ago when she supposedly agreed to this idea. She sighed to herself, she had been caught.

“Tissaia, I-“

“Chop chop. I want you back before we open so we can do an inventory check.”

“I hate you sometimes. Just so you know.”

Tissaia merely grinned as she made notes on her clipboard and watched out the corner of her eye as Sabrina tossed on her coat and mumbled many unrepeatable words as she slammed the door behind her.

Yennefer had even surprised herself this morning. She had set her alarm for four and had managed to arrive at the shop at 5:30. That is some seriously impressive shit for her. Anyone that knows Yennefer would know that she doesn’t fully function till gone 12 and even then she’s still half asleep. She is a night owl after all. Everything good happens when the light bids its farewell and the stars welcome the thrill seekers, the party goers and those that want to escape the world. The day begins for Yennefer when the children are tucked up into bed and the shadows of the evening enveloped the city in complete darkness. However here is Yennefer standing outside her shop at a time where she should be perfectly snuggled up under the covers.

They had so much to do today and she didn’t want to do her usual routine of leave it all to Triss and do the leftover tasks. No, she decided she would wake up early and get a start on the tasks now so there was less to do when Triss arrived.

She thew her hand up into a wave as the company that fitted their store name above the door turned the corner in their van. She looked up to the purple neon letters that illuminated its surroundings in a violet haze. That’s one task to check off the list she thought to herself.

The next one was to finally start baking the bread and pastries for tomorrow. Triss and Yen had decided to give themselves another day of preparation before they opened up shop to customers. They had already advertised their opening online and the usual handing out of leaflets. The shop was set up with a few tables for regular customers and the menus were neatly written out and displayed by Triss. All that was left to do was bake the stock. Luckily the delivery of their ingredients came last evening just after Triss had left so she was determined to make a good start to the day and surprise her friend when she arrived later this morning.

She was 45 minutes or so into baking and she was starting to crash. Yennefer rarely did early morning starts so her body was working against her on this one. She pulled out her phone and set her music onto shuffle. She smiled as Walking on sunshine. blasted through the speakers. Yes she had speakers installed already because she needed background noise to function, and to block out idiot people but she can’t admit to that one.

She slides some poppy seed rolls off the baking tray and the tray crashes to the floor. Yennefer wasn’t one for “tidying as you go”. Well not everyone’s perfect. She pirouettes over to the ovens and throws another batch in she prepared earlier. What she fails to see is a bemused Triss leaning against the door frame videoing the whole performance in front of her. Yennefer isn’t one to be shy in front of the camera and acts up as soon as the spotlight shines on her. Lip syncing like a pro she dances her way over to Triss and gives her a big kiss on the cheek causing her to roll her eyes but smile in response.

“How long have you been here?” She says putting her phone away and turning down the music in the store.

Yennefer shrugged. “A few hours.”

“And you’ve done all this?”

Yennefer watches as Triss paces around the store and stops to sniff the bread and groans in appreciation.

“It’s no big deal.” She says following Triss over to the counter and splitting a bun giving the bigger half to Triss.

“You’ve done so much! We can definitely open up soon now we have the stock baked. When did they arrive with our delivery?”

“Just after you left. It made sense to get in a bit earlier and start baking before any other shop owners arrived.”

Triss nodded, “Explains the loud music.” She said giving her a shake of the head.

Yennefer’s face lit up all of a sudden and dragged Triss outside to the shop entrance and flicked the switch turning on the neon sign. She watched as Triss’s face beamed at the sight and launched herself at her nearly throwing them both on the floor.

“I love it!”

“Thought you would. It’s practical but also incorporates my humour and a little bit of you into the shop.”

Triss carried on smiling at the sign displaying the words “Flour Power.” Her mother’s nickname for her was flower. Her mum said it was because she was a country bumpkin and could always be found in a field of daises or whatever was in season. Yennefer however, argued that it was because she was too pure for the world and was a literal flower. She snaked her arm around her best friend and sighed contently.

“She is so proud of you, you know that right?”

Yennefer nodded in response. She owed the world to Triss and her mum so to hear that she would be proud of her meant more than one could imagine. Triss squeezed her into another hug and they made their way back into the shop, the heat of the ovens offering them a nice warmth contrasting the icy morning breeze outside.

Triss looks up to the speakers. “I think we should turn the music down a tad though. We don’t want the street thinking we are a nightclub.”

“It’s 7 in the morning Triss.”

“Yes, and at this time most people are still sound asleep in their beds.”

Yennefer was about to retort when she sees a blonde slam the shop door opposite and march over towards them. Triss too looked over and spotted the blonde and panics.

“She looks like she’s on a crusade, we weren’t meant to piss off the neighbours until at least week three!”

Yennefer’s eyes squinted at Triss’s statement. “You scheduledme pissing off the neighbours in your action plan?”

“You can’t help but to be prepared for all situations.”

Yennefer can’t really argue at that. She knows she has a natural talent for rubbing up people the wrong way. Take that as you will.

“Well it looks like we have our first customer.”

Triss scurries to the back room leaving Yennefer to deal with the angry looking blonde heading their way.

“Triss, where are you going?”

“To get bread!”

Yennefer takes another look at the woman drawing closer towards them. “I don’t think bread is at the top of her priorities at the moment.”

“Well it never helps to be-“

“Prepared. I know the drill.”

She walks towards the door and opens it to the upcoming hurricane she was sure would run havoc in due course.

“Welcome to flour power, the place to come for all your baked needs.”

She watches as the woman storms through into the shop and turns around to face her.

“What kind of a name is Flour Power?”

Yennefer looks across the road to the shop the stranger had come from and scoffs. “What kind of a name is De Vries Antiques?”

“A surname for starters.”

Yennefer nods in realization and extends out her hand for the stranger to accept. “Yennefer.” She says in an attempt to make amends.

Sabrina paused momentarily but shook the hand extended to her nevertheless. “Sabrina.”

Yennefer smiled and walked over to lean against the counter, eyeing the woman up and down and nodding to herself internally. “So Sabrina De Vries. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at,” she looks down at her watch, “7:03 in the morning.”

“Turning your music down for one would be nice. I would appreciate not having to walk over here every morning to repeat the request.”

“They say music increases productivity by at least 13% and besides live a little. Send me a request and I’ll be sure to give you a performance from your shop window.”

It looked like Sabrina was about to respond when Triss came flying into the room juggling two trays of various baked goods.

“We have rolls, buns, loaves and some lovely cinnamon swirls. Who doesn’t love a cinnamon swirl? I love a cinnamon swirl, you love a cinnamon swirl and I bet you would just love a bite of this cinnamon swirl!”

Yennefer bit her lip in an attempt to hide the laugh she knew was dying to come out. She sneaked a glance at Sabrina who appeared to be stunned for words for the first time since entering the shop.

Yennefer decided to save the poor woman whilst taking a tray off of Triss and putting it over to one side.

“Sabrina, meet Triss. Triss, this is Sabrina de Vries. Owner of De Vries Antiques and also quite a wiz at original shop names.” She watched as Triss curtsied and then turned a bright shade of red. Yennefer sighed and watched the catastrophe unravel before her.

Sabrina grinned at the display of this so called Triss. Yennefer also noticed her eyes dart to both of their hands and smiled at the woman’s conclusion. They’ve only met two minutes ago and she was already going to have to keep a watchful eye out when Miss De Vries was around it seemed.

“Sabrina was just here to. What were you saying again Sabrina?”

The woman froze in position and then seemed lost for words. Between her and Triss this silence was becoming more and more awkward by the second.

“I was just coming in to say hi, since we’re practically neighbours and all.”

Yennefer watched as she practically stuttered out the sentence, going a slight shade of red to match Triss.

“So you didn’t come to complain about the music?”

“Me? Music? Complain?” She looked at Triss and then added “Play the music as loud as you want.’ Yennefer then watched as she mentally cursed herself and started running out of the store.

“Wait!”

Triss got as far as the door but Sabrina had already got to the end of the road and ran back into her shop, safe behind the wall’s interior.

“She didn’t even try a cinnamon swirl.”

Yennefer took a big bite out of the pastry Triss was still holding and moaned loudly. It’s basically food porn.

Triss looked dejected but she too took a bite out of the remaining pastry and smiled.

“So.”

“So?”

“Oh come on Triss. She clearly has a thing for you!”

Triss stared at Yennefer with a look of confusion. “She has a thing for me?”

She rolled her eyes, “Of course she has a thing for you! She practically made a beeline for the door when you waltzed into the room spouting the entirety of the menu.”

“Oh. Well that’s very flattering. What do I do about this?”

Now it was Yennefer’s time to look confused. “What do you mean what do you do?”

Triss shifted her weight from foot to foot and her eyes fixated on anything that wasn’t Yennefer’s face who she thought was clearly judging her.

“Well do you like her?’

“How am I meant to know if I like her? I only saw her for two seconds!”

Yennefer laughed and put her arm around her friend and offered her some advice.

“Talk to her some more. See if you have anything in common. I may not be an expert in many things in this strange world but I can see when someone is interested in you or not. I’ve had most of my life batting off potential suitors remember.”

Triss laughed but returned the hug regardless. It was true that many boys back in her youth had taken quite an interest in her over the years. She never knew how to let them down gently so Yennefer would always take on the role of “the professional dumper” on Triss’s behalf. Poor choice of words but still.

“She may not even be gay Yen.”

“Really? Darling my gaydar was pinging like a microwave as soon as she took one step into the shop.”

Triss seemed to be considering this information very carefully. “She is very pretty.” She said almost in a whisper.

“There we go!”

Yennefer spun around and grabbed her phone, swiping away at the screen until she found what she was looking for.

The sound of “Love Shack” came blasting through the sound system and Triss did not look impressed in the slightest.

She took both of Triss’s hands and led her into a dance, spinning her round and prompting her to live a little and let loose. They both danced to the duration of the song, giggling like school girls who had just been given a rose on Valentine’s day. Besides, Sabrina had given them permission to play music as loud as they desired. So she will do exactly that.

Meanwhile Sabrina shut the door firmly behind her, making a swift exit after seeing, Triss? Yes, that was her name. She could have sworn Renfri said they were together? They weren’t wearing a ring though. How odd she thought to herself. She heard the blasting of music from behind her and cursed. “Play the music as loud as you want.” Why on earth did she say that? She was more than ready to give Yennefer a run for her money and size up the new neighbours until Triss waltzed in and rendered her speechless. No one made her speechless. She leant forward against one of the display cases and felt the cold glass press against her face, soothing the pain of embarrassment ever so slightly. The next time Triss saw her she was going to be ready. Prepare yourself for a whole new Sabrina!

She straightened herself out after the mental pep talk and stood to see Tissaia glaring at her and then to the shop opposite. The dance fiesta was still going strong and it didn’t look like they were going to let up anytime soon. She raced to the back room pulling off her coat in the process and took her sweet time pegging it up on the rack. She was not about to tell Tissaia that the blaring music was going to be a regular occurrence -though she did approve of the music choice they had selected begrudgingly – even more so that she basically gave them permission to play music all day long. Nope. She grabbed her phone from her coat pocket and checked the time, 7:10. Never too early for a second coffee she decided and took the back door out to make a rather long stop at The Grind. She had a few questions for Renfi and frankly she just couldn’t face the wrath of Tissaia just yet, not without some liquid courage anyway. Maybe she could buy Tissaia something to act as a peace offering on the way back she thought. Yes, grand idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated <3


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